smog

[smog, smawg]
noun
1.
smoke or other atmospheric pollutants combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture.
2.
photochemical smog.
verb (used with object)
3.
to cover or envelop with or as if with smog.
Origin:
1900–05; sm(oke) + (f)og1

Related forms
smog·less, adjective
de·smog, verb (used with object), de·smogged, de·smog·ging.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
smog (smɒɡ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
a mixture of smoke, fog, and chemical fumes
 
[C20: from sm(oke + f)og1]
 
'smoggy
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Smog is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

smog
1905, blend of smoke and fog, formed "after Lewis Carrol's example" [Klein; see portmanteau]. Reputedly coined in ref. to London, and first attested there in a paper read by Dr. H.A. des Voeux, treasurer of the Coal Smoke Abatement Society, though he seems not to have claimed credit for coining it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

smog (smŏg)
n.

  1. Fog that has become mixed and polluted with smoke.

  2. A form of air pollution produced when sunlight causes hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from automotive emissions to combine in a photochemical reaction.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
smog   (smŏg)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A form of air pollution produced by the reaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons, nitrogen compounds, and other gases primarily released in automobile exhaust. Smog is common in large urban areas, especially during hot, sunny weather, where it appears as a brownish haze that can irritate the eyes and lungs. Ozone, a toxic gas that is not normally produced at lower atmospheric levels, is one of the primary pollutants created in this kind of smog. Also called photochemical smog.

  2. Fog that has become polluted with smoke and particulates, especially from burning coal.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

smog definition


A haze or fog composed of water vapor, complex molecules, and suspended particles.

Note: In North America, the primary cause of smog is pollution from automobile exhaust.
Note: The Los Angeles basin, where pollutants can be trapped by inversions and the surrounding mountains, has frequent problems with smog, as do other major urban areas.
Note: The word smog is a combination of smoke and fog.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
smog
smoke and fog
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Small efficient diesel engines with low smog and pollution emissions are the
  way to go.
But the sulphur that spews from the smokestacks of coal-fired power stations
  causes acid rain and the soot generates smog.
Numerous studies have linked heart disease and air pollution, particularly smog.
For environmentalists, the smog highlights several weaknesses in the region's
  societies.
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